Machine for crocheting cord



Nov. 13, 1,951 M. M. MALls MACHINE FOR CROCHETING CORD Fned Aug. 2o. 1949 INVENTOR. MORRlS M. MAUS ALTORNEY Patented Nov. 13,71951 UNITED Y STATES@ PATENT OFFICE 2,574,101 l momtrs'ronogtoonitnue conn Morris Malisfhuantic city, N. J. Application August izo, 19.49, 'serial No. 111,427

` w (Grassi-s) Y l l i l The machine of the vpresent invention is designed for the production of cord from a single strand of yarn by anoperatlonanalogousito that of crocheting, and Awhile eminently suitable 'for *use by children asia -plaything is fully capable of 'J1 producing -cords Ifor the manufacture of mats, rugs, afghansandother purposes.

It is therefore a principal object of the linvention to provide a machine of the character "aforesaid which "fis adapt-ed for manual operation and therefore of eo'nvenient size for that purpose; which is of attractive appearance; `read- Iily operable by `persons of any age; capable oi producing fa cord Vof indefinite length 'as long as it is supplied 'with yarn, and comprising novel means for imparting to the latter the requisite tension as it is drawn "by the needles from the vsource ofsup'ply.

Other objects include the `provision of such An'lachine employing two needles with means to effect their reciproeation in suchway that they alternately engage and draw the yarn in apredetermined manner -while they are beingcarried 'around a 'common axis iwith 'resultant formation of the desired oord. l

Other objects and novel features of design, construction and 'arrangement compr'ehended by -the invention are hereinafter more'particula'rly pointed out or Awill beV apparent to those skilled inthe artfror'n the following 'description of one embodiment Vof Yit as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig, 1 is 4an faiiial section of the machine 'in the plane of the'needles which 'are shown in ele- Vation;

Fig. 2 isan enlarged top plan view -of'the machine; Y

Fig. -3 isa top plan view thereof on a-like scale Ibut with the cap-removed; and

Fig. '4 is la fragrnentary axial section on line 24-4 inFig. 1.

Essentially the machine includes La tubular lbody desirably approximatin'gfl" inlength withrin `and Yaxially of 'which is `disposed:a :hollow rotatable needle guidethe lower end of which, `'considering the machine in the position showt-rin Fig. 1 approximating Lthat in which Vitl's normally `held when-in operation, extends kbelow the body `and car-ries a removable vcircular knob -by means of which the neefdlefguide 'can be rotated irela- 'tively tothe body by thefllgers'of @he hard'whi'l'e the body itselfi's -giaspedlin'the other. At'its other for -llpp'e'lfhd r'the 'b'od'yis provided ivi/'ith a vritnrtfable hap v"enib'o'dylll: th-'read 'ften's'i'oring 'iheans-vhileffliied inthe-lbody proilnate-its lower 4. Claims.

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end 'are'two bushings within which the needle guide fisjou'rnaled ithese' bushings being 'spaced apart axially at their juxtaposed edges which are so Aformed as `to together define a sinuous cam groove for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Theseseveral parts are preferably vmade of Lucite `or other analogous, desirably transparent, `plastic whereby the operation of the needles, the Vvarious rmovements vinrlparted 'to the yarn and the progressive formation of the cord therefrom can lbe readily observed 4through the wall of the body. Whilefit 'is of course 'unessential that said parts fb'e of 'such material, it nevertheless is eminently "desirableKsince 'it 'addsmaterially to the attractiveness and 'marketability of the machine.

More particularlyand 'a's hitherto stated, the 'b'odyl is'tubular and desirably of slightly greater internal diameter for4 approximately the upper fha'lf of its length l'thanin `its'lower half within Which are seated the upper" bushing V2 `and the 'lower bushing 3; I preferto 'nx the-former perfma'n'entl'y inthe `bodyfby means of a suitable adhesive 'but to make the latter a very ysnug but fremovable"iit therein andp'revent 'it from rotating by means of akey dor other suitable means. The 'lower lend of the upper bushing and the 1upper end 'ofth'e lower bushing are substantially .fcoinple'mentary to eachl `other, in juxtaposed spaced relation and `of "Such shapethat they form '-between'them an endlessfsinuous closed groove hii of-appropriate-width'to receive the butts of the lineedles, the edge `of the upperbushing, however, being shaped .to provi'den'a shoulder E at one point, as v"best shown 'in Fig. '4, adapted for ene -'gagement Aby the butt of either ineedle so as to kpreve'ntthe `needles and needle guideV from being turned .relatively to the rbo'dy `for more `than a lpartial'revolution 'in one `direction as hereinafter described. I

vltotatable 'within the bushings is the tubular rneedl'e'guide'lthe .lower extremity of which is of lsli'ghtlyiless diameter than lits major portion so fas to form `a vshoulder which seats on an inwlayrdly directed flan'geS .at the lower end of the lower bushing; in consequence the lneedle guide Icanbe drawnupwardly and removed from the (body when desiredgbut when in operative posi- V'tion thereinrests on harige 3'. The reduced lower aend of 'the guide 4then projects below the en'd of the body and corresponding end of the lower bushing which is desirably flush therewith fto receive a knob '8 fwhicn is lbored to `form -a 'tight biltrrnovable 'fit upon it and is 'prevented 'from turning'- -on l'the-guide Aby la key 9' integral with the inernber l'and seating Vinan appropriate slot in the end of the guide. Thus when it is desired to remove the guide from body knob 8 may be pulled off the guide to allow the latter to be, drawn upwardly and out of the body as above described, and with a View to conserving material and reducing weight an annular groove 8' desirably is extended inwardly from the upper end of the knob.

The upper end of the body is operatively closed by a removable cap Iihaving aperipheral flange seating on and slightly overhanging the proximate end of the body and a, depending portionl fitting snugly within the latter, the cap embodying the means for imparting the requisite tension to the yarn as it is drawn by the needles as hereinafter will appear.

The needle guide 1 is provided witli` two diametrically opposed, outwardly facing slots I I`I I extending from its upper end for the entire length of its portion of maximum diameter, the

* width of each of these slots being appropriate for the reception of one of theneedles N. and to 4enable the yarn to be drawn for a short distance into the slots when the needles descend, the

slots are made wider at their upper extremities as best shown in Fig. 3.

When operatively positioned in the slots the butts of the needles project outwardly into camming groove 5 (Fig. 1) with the result that when the needle guide is turned relatively to the body by means of knob 8 or vice versa the needles are respectively reciprocated in their slots so as to alternately cause their heads to rise in the -vicinity of the cap, and thus into yarn engaging position, and to descend somewhat below the 'upper end of the guide, the needles being of usual form and provided with the customary latches for retaining the yarn within their curved heads when and as required during the fcrocheting operation.

- l -To enable the butts of the needles to be entered -in camming groove 5 when the parts are being .assembled in operative relation, the upper bushing 2 is provided with a slot I2 extending radially .through its wall from its upper edge to its lower whereby when either of the needle receiving slots in the needle guide is aligned therewith and a needle then pushed downwardly in its slot in the guide the needle butt will pass through slot I2 and thus into the camming slot; then by giving the guide a half turn so as'to align the other .needle slot with slot I2, the butt of the second needle may be introduced tothe camming groove -in like manner and thereafter as the needle guide is rotated the butts are constrained to follow the f' 'latter to reciprocate the needles as already described. However, since for proper formation of the cord it is requisite the needle guide be turned in a predetermined direction with respect to the body, namely, clockwisel in Figs. 2 and 3, the shoulder 6 of which mention has been made is formed at an appropriate point in the upper wall of the camming groove whereby when the needle guide is turned in the proper direction the butts of the needles will ride over the shoulder as the f cord is progressively formed during continued turning of the guide but when it is attempted to turn the guide in the opposite direction the butt of one needle or the other will very shortly thereafter contact the shoulder, thus preventing furl ther turning of the guide in that direction.

To maintain the requisite tension on cord C as it is progressively formed and passes downwardly through the interior of the needle guide, a rod I4 vhaving a hook at its upper end and an appropriaxially of the cap and the others, preferably two Iin number, are-centered on a radius of the latter.

These last mentioned holes, I9 and 20, as well as the axial hole are of a diameter to freely receive the yarn which, preparatory to beginning the Aproduction of the cord, is threaded through all -the holes in the manner shown in Fig. l, that is,

downwardly through axial hole I8, thence up- .wardly through the next adjacent hole I9, and

finally downwardly through the outermost hole 20. In the operationv of the machine the yarn normally enters hole I8 devoid of appreciable tension but the friction exerted on it by the walls of the several holes and the intervening portions of the cap during its sinuous passage through the former produces a slight tension in it as it is drawn from hole 20 by the needles as required for the proper production of the cord. The tensioning means are thus entirely self-contained in .the cap which, in turn, is a component part of the machine as a whole, and this I regard as an important feature of my invention since it entirely obviates use of any extraneous means for imparting the necessary tension to the yarn.

To insure the cap being replaced in position to bring the holes I9 and 20 into proper relation with the other parts, a key 2l is extended slightly from the depending portion of the cap which enters the body and the inner wall of the latter .provided with`a keyway for its reception so that lwhen assembling the cap on the body the key must be aligned with the keyway to enable the cap to be pushed down to operative position as in Fig. 1.

In order to form a cord by the use of the `machine, cap IIJ is first removed and yarn Y,

drawn from a suitable source of supply, threaded downwardly through hole I 8, thence upwardly through hole I9 and finally downwardly through hole 29, and a knot is then formed in its end which is caught under the head of one of the needles. before the cap is replaced. Thereafter into the upper end of the bore and the weight is .then attached to the lower end of the rod so as toA tension the cord as it is thereafter progressively formed by the needles and draw it downwardly through the needle guide. By continuing -relative rotation of the guide and body, the cord may be formed to any desired length as long as yarn is supplied, the rod and weight being moved up from time to time and hooked into the body of `the cord at an appropriate point so as to main tain the requisite pull on the latter. Y

,While I have hereindescribed and illustrated -oneembodiment of my invention with consider- -able particularity, I dofnot` thereby desire or intend to restrict or coni-lne myself specifically thereto as various changes and modifications may be made in the form, arrangement and method of assembly of the parts and the latter, save the needles, may be constructed of various materials other than transparent plastic if desired, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A machine for forming cords from yarn or the like, comprising a hollow body, a needle guide journaled for axial rotation therein having diametrically opposed needle receiving slots, a needle slidably positioned in each slot, means operative to reciprocate the needles when the guide is rotated relatively to the body, a remov-V able cap closing that end of the body proximate the heads of the needles having a series of holes between its axis and periphery forming a sinuous path for the yarn effective to retard its passage therealong and thereby tension it as it is intermittently engaged by and drawn toward the needle guide by the needles.

2. A machine for forming cords from yarn or the like, comprising a hollow body, a tubular needle guide extending within and axially thereof, projecting beyond the body at one end and provided with diametrically opposed longitudinally extending slots, detachable means carried by the projecting end of the guide whereby it may be manually rotated relatively to the body, axially spaced bushings within the body forming journals for the guide and having juxtaposed edges defining between them a sinuous groove, a pair of needles respectively disposed in said slots with their butts extending into said groove and their heads proximate the other end of the guide, a cap operatively closing that end of the body adjacent the heads of the needles and provided with a central hole and a plurality of other holes spaced along a radius of the cap, the several holes and portions of the cap lying between them defining for the yarn a sinuous path extending from the central hole through the outermost hole whereby the friction exerted on the yarn as it traverses said path imparts tension to the yarn as it is drawn by the needles alternately from adjacent the outermost hole as the needle guide is rotated relatively to the body and the needles through vengagement of their butts in said sinuous groove are consecutively reciprocated relatively to the guide.

3. A machine for forming cords from yarn or the like comprising a hollow cylindrical body, a tubular needle guide extending Within and axially thereof, projecting beyond the body at one end and provided with diametrically opposed longtudinally extending slots, a pair of needles respectively disposed in said slots, a detachable knob carried by the projecting end of the guide whereby it may be manually rotated relatively to the body, axially spaced bushings within the body forming journals for the guide and having juxtaposed edges defining between them a sinuous groove receiving the butts of the needles, the

bushing proximate the other end of the guide having in its wall a slot extending parallel to its axis and intersecting said sinuous groove to kenable said butts to be introduced thereto with their heads proximate said other end of the guide, a removable cap operatively closing that end of the body adjacent the heads of the needles and provided with a central hole and a plurality of other holes spaced outwardly therefrom, the several holes and portions of the cap lying between them dening for the yarn a sinuous path extending from the central hole through the outermost one whereby the friction exerted on the yarn by the portions of the cap which it engages as it traverses said path resists free movement of the yarn therealong and thereby maintains it under tension as it is consecutively drawn by the needles alternately from adjacent the outermost hole as the needle guide is rotated relative to the body and the needles through engagement of their butts in said sinuous groove are reciprocated relatively to the guide.

4. A machine as dened in claim 3 in which the bushing proximate said projecting end of the guide is provided with a shoulder extending into the groove formed between the bushings having a face adapted to engage the butt of a needle to inhibit its passage beyond the shoulder when the needle is moving in one direction.

MORRIS M. MALIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in lthe le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS ,-,0 Number Name Date 174,763 Bickford Mar. 14, 1876 574,053 Appleton Dec. 29, 1896 2,108,705 Broadwin Feb. 15, 1938 2,222,992 Stenhardt Nov. 26, 1940 

